The Quiet Queen
by multiplebae
Summary: Hinata knew she was hated, but took it in her stride as the quietly strong girl always did. As the manager of the Konoha Tails football team, she meets the new student- Extremely handsome and reserved Sabaku No Gaara. Gaara immediately becomes interested in the silent girl, wanting to know everything about her. But will she let him in? GAAHINA
1. Chapter 1

**Heya guys, this is my new GaaHina fanfic. I don't know how long it will be, but I've always loved the GaaHina concept! Hope you enjoy and please review :)**

The sun was high in the sky when Football practice began. Konoha high's football team practiced through the coldest winters and the most blistering summers- today was the same for Hinata, just today there was a new member to the team.

Coach Jiraiya was having the boys run laps, making them warm up and giving time to Hinata to set up their next drills when the new boy walked in.

"Ah, Sabaku Gaara! Welcome m'boy!" Jiraiya cheered, slapping the large teenager on the back. Hinata looked up from the cones, meeting the emerald eyes of the new Offensive Tackle. He was large- extremely tall and broader than most the boys on the team. But Hinata just went back to preparing the obstacle course.

Gaara flicked his eyes away from the pale eyed girl after a moment longer, curiosity lingering in his mind. The silver haired man clapped a hand on Gaara's back, completely invading his comfort zone, and gestured to the legion of sweaty boys running in the heat.

"These are the Konoha Tails, top of Japan in their football skills. The blonde one at the front is the quarterback, Uzumaki Naruto- he's pretty fast and the only one you'll really need to watch out for. The dark haired one behind him is Uchiha Sasuke, the running back. Both of those boys have an intense rivalry, so you might end up in the middle of more than a few mid game spats"

Gaara shrugged, used to the bickering nature of people. His siblings had equipped him for that. The coach, Jiraiya, smiled largely at the redhead, jerking his head toward the field. "Welcome to Konoha High. If you need anything, go to the girl over there- she's the manager. But other than that, get your ass on the field and run the last lap with them!"

He was too energetic was the first thing Sabaku Gaara thought of the blonde. He was tall, lean and had the wicked laugh of someone who talked too much. Sasuke Uchiha however was the blonde's best friend, and was a stark contrast. Cold, impassive and strategy oriented, Gaara could see why the pair were put together on the field.

And since he was Japan's most sought after Offensive Linebacker, it only fit that he come to Konoha High too. They ran for almost the whole practice, Jiraiya saying they needed to man up and learn to cope in the 'sweltering' heat.

The heat was normal for Gaara. Being from a desert did that to a person. He looked back up to the girl when he came to a stop, running his eyes appreciatively down her frame. She stood to the side, in the shadow of Jiraiya and took down their lap times- never actually looking at the person who ran past when she recorded.

What was her name? The girl was small and made of slopes- not lines. No matter how much she hid them in her large lavender and grey hoody, he could tell she was curvy. The kind of curves that really made a man appreciate a woman. Gaara stopped next to her when the running was finished, ignoring the calls of Naruto to come over. The girl finally looked up, pale eyes locked on his before she spoke.

"You need to go over to them"

Gaara didn't think she could get any better, but by the warmth and breathiness of her voice, she sure did. He nodded brusquely, walking back to the team, avoiding hands that seemed to want to touch him all the time, and wiping the sweat that had pooled above his brow.

"Why you talking to the Hyuuga?" The blonde said, raising an eyebrow. Gaara said nothing. "You know it's basically social suicide if you do right?" Another said, not even trying to make his voice quieter so the girl didn't hear him.

Gaara folded his arms, waiting in line for his turn on the obstacle course. "Why?"

Sasuke scoffed, a rare show of emotion, and splayed his palms in front of himself. You haven't heard anything about her?"

Gaara shook his head, curiosity peaking again. What did they mean? "I only came here this lunch period"

Sasuke smirked before turning to the front of the line. "You'll find out soon Sabaku"

And Gaara really wanted to know.

Period 5 was AP Calculus and Hinata wondered why, for the millionth time, she took calculus- AP calculus, as a subject. Hinata didn't even like the subject. But, it was something she was good at, so why drop it?

She shook her head, walking into the classroom and ignoring the looks she recieved from two of her main antagonists- the pink haired bitch Sakura, and the blonde bimbo Ino. And then she wondered why God was so cruel as to have pretty people be extremely nasty.

Was that one of those normal things in life? Did other people deal with emotionally hurtful girls on the daily? Judging by her best friend TenTen, not all girls were mean.

"Try to kill yourself again today, attention seeking whore?" Sakura called, voice sickly sweet and filled with much more insults. Hinata frowned but continued walking to the back of the class, sitting next to the already sleeping son of the Nara clan. Ino turned in her seat, brushing her pale hair out of her electric eyes and sneered.

"Be careful, you won't want to give Shika-chan depression!"

And as always, the class laughed. Hinata sighed, knowing her face was a calm mask of indifference. The words did hurt, but a lot of other things did too. And Hinata was glad that those other things weren't there to hurt her. Yet.

Then the talking in the class stopped, all awe inspired gazes and drool leaking from mouths. Sabaku Gaara had walked in. Sakura and Ino immediately leaned forward, breasts straining against the too tight material of their cheerleading suits.

Well, the microbe breasts they had to push. Hinata just looked back outside the window, knowing if she looked too long the insults would come flying back. She had to admit, the boy was handsome. A rugged, tan face with natural, wind swept crimson hair and the most intense viridian eyes- Hinata almost drooled too.

But being the 'Quiet Queen' of the school meant that I wasn't allowed to talk. The nickname was not something friendly- it wasn't like she had things to say to people who were shallower than a puddle anyway.

A whiff of musk, heat and leather hit Hinata's nose, and she snapped her head up. Gaara stood before her, gesturing to the empty seat in front of her. "Seat free?"

Hinata paused a moment before nodding slowly. Gaara's eyes appraised her again before sitting down, broad back stretching the white shirt he wore.

Hinata didn't mind the view that much now.

Kakashi- sensei taught a lot of subjects at the school, and right now he was subjecting this math class to pure horror. Competition calculus in front of the class. Hinata was fine with calculus, but she knew as soon as she stood up, the whispering would start. Couldn't people just say things to her face like Ino and Sakura did?

"Gaara. Hinata. Solve this" Kakashi called, writing up a new equation on two sides of the blackboard. She sighed, flipped her waist length hair behind her shoulders and walked to the board, Gaara hot behind her.

She looked over the equation, shrugged and then began the solving process. Easy components; integration, graphing then differentiation to get the gradient function. But Gaara didn't seem to be having the same ease.

He just stood there, brows creased and eyes a glaze of confusion. Hinata brought her chalk down hard on the board, shocking the redhead who then looked at her questioningly. Well, looked down to her, since he was well over 6 foot.

"Watch and write" She murmured lowly, slowly writing the equation below her own, low enough for the class not to see but he could. Gaara raised a brow before nodding almost imperceptibly, eyes following what she wrote.

Hinata worked like this, finishing the equation quickly then writing her own up the top- knowing Gaara would finish before her. He stopped and stared when he had finished, chalk breaking in his large hands. "Turn around and say you're finished." Her voice was firm and Gaara did as he was told, turning then nodding to the teacher.

"I bet Hinata copied Gaara, she hasn't got much in that airhead of hers" Someone snickered and Hinata finished the equation, turning back around and walking to her seat. She could feel Kakashi-sensei's eyes on her, and knew he knew what she had done.

But Gaara, his eyes were too intense and analytical. It seemed like he was unraveling her every time his gaze ran over her, and Hinata didn't want to be unraveled. It had taken too long to pull herself together.

TenTen sat with Hinata, munching happily on her bento box before resuming her speech. "Have you heard from Kiba lately? He hasn't written for the past two weeks" Hinata shook her head, heart feeling a tinge of sadness for her other best friend. "I think he got in trouble again, you know Kiba. But, he gets out of juvie in another month, so it won't matter too much"

TenTen grinned, pulling a leg up under her chin as she ate. "That mutt, he better be an angel when he gets out, or i will castrate him if he gets into trouble again"

Hinata laughed, half believing her martial arts obsessed friend. TenTen and Hinata had been friends since they were children, two opposites who took a liking to each other immediately.

"Look, the dykes are together again" Sakura said, loud enough for Hinata and TenTen to hear. They both stiffened but carried on talking, ignoring the pink haired ironing board. "They're probably swapping lesbian suicide attempts" ino called, making TenTen turn to the blonde haired girl on a table near theirs. Their cafeteria was very full, and wasn't separated into the 'stereotypical' groups books and movies dreamed of. Well, there was one group that stayed together.

The Jock and cheerleader table. TenTen stood, throwing her apple on the ground near Ino. "You will shut your fucking mouth, you bottle blonde bitch" TenTen growled, dark eyes alight with aggression. Hinata sighed, placing a placating hand on the fiery girl.

"Oh look, how touching, Hinata's trying to communicate some lesbian depression message to her lover, you wanna go and cut yourself?"

Hinata turned to Sakura despite TenTen telling her not to, eyes blank and cold. Were the insults ever going to change? Although someone who chose to dye her hair pink obviously had too much bleach for their braincells.

"Haruno, shut your fucking mouth" A low voice rasped, a rumble of anger and intolerance. The girls all snapped their gazes to the new red head on the scene, shock evident on the Haruno's face. Gaara stood up rigidly, glaring at the rest of the football team who were too scared to say anything to him.

"Gaara, where are you going?" Naruto asked, surprised and angry at the way he spoke to the girl he liked. But Gaara glared fiercely at the blonde, almost growling at him. "You all have no dicks. And these cheerleaders you fraternize with? They have no brain, class or any sort of appeal" He then stood, hands slamming down on the table as he took his lunch and went to sit next to the barely awake Nara who was playing with his udon.

Shikamaru opened his eyes fully, nudging a chubby boy next to him with swirls on his full cheeks. They both stared at the new addition, then shrugged and went back to their meals, Gaara nodding in gratitude.

The Tails called for him most of lunch until their small minds realized that he wasn't going back anytime soon. There was only so much a person could take of not saying anything. And Gaara felt even more guilty thinking back to those times where the pale eyed girl had been mocked right in front of him.

Gaara didn't like people, and he took that far more seriously than most other attention seekers who said it but cried when they had no friends. No, Gaara really didn't like people. Once they found out he was rich, extremely wealthy beyond belief, the people who had shunned him then tried to accept him.

Gaara looked up, his eyes finding Hinata in the crowded cafeteria. She had her eyes on him, analytical, porcelain face firm and unblinking. She really was too pretty for her own good. Then her friend, the one with two buns on her head, said something that made her mask crack and her smile light up her face.

A voice beside him drew him out of his awe, the spiky haired boy sitting up slightly. "There we have it. You've joined the legions of men that have fallen for the Hyuuga." Shikamaru shook his head, knowing first hand what that felt like. He laid his head back on his forearms and yawned. "How troublesome"

Gaara didn't doubt Shikamaru one bit. All he wanted to do was know everything about her.


	2. Chapter 2

**It has been a while. Sorry.**

Hinata didn't know why people hated her- it was something she had to accept. Too long had they hated her for her to question it, so she just went about- quiet, reserved and unaffected by the remarks people said not so subtly behind her back.

She knew whatever the reason was, it was why her ex boyfriend had broken up with her. Hinata shook her head, refocusing on the notes book in front of her, looking to the board and out of the memories that threatened to overwhelm her.

"Hyuuga! Solve this" Kakashi called lazily from his desk, holding up a piece of paper that had a lengthy equation written on it. She sighed but stood, steeling her spine against the murmurs that inevitably arose. Gaara was sitting in front of her, intense emerald eyes immediately on her.

Sometimes she wondered if Kakashi-sensei had something against her. She took the paper from his outstretched hand and started writing on the board, quickly doing the calculations in her head as her hand whizzed, never stopping.

She finished after a long 5 minutes and raised her eyebrow at Kakashi who nodded. The relief almost made her fist pump the air. But considering the amount of eyes that were on her right now, she chose not to.

Shikamaru was actually awake when Hinata walked back to her seat, surprising the Hyuuga, but Gaara had left a note on her desk when she sat down.

 _I need a tutor for calc._

Well. That got to the point. But why did he pass the note to her? From the experiences yesterday, he was on some sort of friendship level with Shikamaru- who was the genius of the school and had the highest IQ. Hinata was coming 2nd in the school. Hinata wanted to be his tutor, but decided with a sad sigh that it would be better in more ways than one to have Shikamaru.

She hesitated before tapping him on the shoulder, he turned immediately, a question written on his face. She pointed to the note then to Shikamaru, who glanced at them both strangely.

Gaara shook his head, jerking his head towards her. Hinata frowned and folded her arms. She wouldn't let him fall to the levels she was at in the school, and if that meant refusing his wants, she would do it.

Too many people had been degraded because of their friendship with her. TenTen was the only one who wouldn't leave, despite her attempts.

Hinata went back to her work, effectively ignoring the frustrated yet handsome redhead.

Gaara sat near Shikamaru, stabbing his fork into the meat in his lunch. Hinata had so _vehemently_ refused him, even going as far to ignore him for a _whole lesson._ Did she think he was creepy? Did she really not like him?

It wasn't that he had a big ego, but he thought he could start a friendship or _something_ with her. But no, it didn't look like she wanted one.

He flicked his eyes to the girl in question, who sat with her bun haired friend again, listening intently to the active story she was telling.

And why did everyone hate her?

Gaara groaned out loud, slamming his hand on the table in a rare show of emotion. Shikamaru raised a brow before muttering a low 'troublesome…"

Hinata stiffened, before going back to work and ignoring the feeling of longing in her heart.

Gaara tapped his hand impatiently on his thigh, waiting for the bun haired girl to come out of the bathroom he had seen her go into during lunch. Hinata had been avoiding his eyes for the day, evading him more skillfully than any sportsman he had ever seen.

Although, considering her social status, she would need to be good at hiding. He just didn't want her to hide from _him._

The girl stepped out of the bathroom, stretching out a yawn when her eyes caught the brooding redhead. His emerald eyes immediately flicked to her, straightening up off the door frame.

"That's really creepy" TenTen said, brows raised at the boy who had been staring not-so-subtly at her best friend. Gaara scowled, instead getting straight to the point. "Does Hinata hate me?"

TenTen was surprised, stepping back and folding her defined arms in front of the more than intimidating male. Ha, if anything, Hinata liked him more than she would admit.

"Nah, she just doesn't want you to become a social outcast" She murmured, thinking back to the events yesterday. He was already on the outskirts of social popularity- simply because he had defended her yesterday and insulted the whole cheerleading squad. But since he was hot, he was still tolerated.

Gaara raised a non existent brow, folding his large arms with a frown on his face. "Then how come you're still allowed to be friends with her?"

TenTen laughed, remembering the constant months that she spent befriending the reserved girl. Hinata had only had her cousin- and when he died, well, she wasn't in the best of states. They had a bond deeper than anything she had ever encountered before, a bond that she didn't think mere teenagers could have.

But Neji was everything to Hinata- the only person who stood with her, protected her and loved her. The ultimate older brother and carer- especially when her family could care less on whether she lived or died.

So when she saw that broken girl come to school the day after his death, forced by her asshole of a father, with a hard mask in place, TenTen's heart had broken for her. And when those disgusting rumours went around about how Hinata _wanted_ her genius cousin to die or how she had an incestuous relationship with him, Hinata had stayed strong through it all, never once giving in to the people she used to call friends who ridiculed her daily.

TenTen wanted to be friends with her, be friends with the only genuine person in school and give her some sort of comfort that she never had.

TenTen's eyes went to Gaara who was still waiting for a response. He was tough, extremely tough to have come from Suna High and be known as 'The Beast.' She also could see, that in his eyes, he really wanted to understand and be near Hinata.

TenTen smiled knowingly, unnerving the redhead in question. "When her cousin died, I was the only one there. She had no one, _no one._ Her family don't even validate her existence, her 'friends' turned against her and threw her away as if she were trash- those friends being those Footballers and Cheerleaders you cussed out yesterday" TenTen breathed out, checking her watch. "I'll put in a good word for you. But if you mess this up, I will fucking murder you"

Then she walked away with a smile on her face, leaving Gaara to process everything- including her threat.

Gaara smiled before following her to the cafeteria, his will of iron snapping into place as he thought of the girl with pale eyes.

The football practice that day was more intense than usual, one that had Jiraiya losing his usual happy go lucky demeanor. His voice carried out over the fields, enraged shouting that motivated the boys for no other reason than to not get yelled at individually.

Gaara's eyes kept straying to the dark haired girl on the bleachers, as she sat and went through her books, already having prepared the next drills. She was wearing something lighter that day, still a pair of black jeans but a thinner lavender hoodie with her sketchers.

Effortless beauty.

"Sabaku! 50 push ups, now!" Jiraira shouted, hands on his hips. Gaara frowned, moving his attention to the grass as he pumped his arms up and down. What was up Jiraiyas ass today? From all the Icha Icha books Gaara saw him read, it was probably the lack of luck in the sack.

Gaara almost grinned as he powered through his push ups, ignoring the group that gathered around him.

He jumped to his feet, brushing off his hands and looking to the girl in the stands. Her cheeks were red, and her pale eyes kept glancing back to him as if she had been caught staring….Oh. Gaara's chest puffed, a sense of manly satisfaction at having the woman that caught his attention stare at him too.

It was stupid.

"Diamond running now. You prissy's are all lacking in your cardiovascular, so get running. You have twelve minutes for the first, and we'll decrease that time by two minutes every round"

All the boys groaned but grouped up, dreading the exercise ahead. In an honest sense, Gaara did too- he was a strength and power athlete, not a runner at all. But that didn't mean he couldn't. The run started and Gaara shut his mind off,focusing on the beat of his feet and heart aligning.

Boys were spewing and Jiraiya- that crazy old frog- laughed. Gaara watched as the less fit members of the team vomited everything they had eaten throughout the day. If Gaara wasn't so used to the heat, then that sorry sight might have been him too. But Hinata was watching, and he wouldn't spew.

Not even when that blonde _fuck_ emptied his guts on his shoes.

Jiraiya was sent into a new round of laughs, but called Hinata over, gesturing to Gaara's now ruined shoes.

He saw the cringe in her eyes, but she still waved for the redhead to follow her to the nearest fountains. She turned on the tap, tying her hair in a high bun away from her face.

Gaara liked it up- it showed more of her face.

"Take off your shoes please. I've already called the sports department for another pair. Size 13 right?"

He raised a brow at her knowledge and nodded, watching her rinse his shoes. It was gross- that much was easy to see, but she just went on, as if the smell or general disgustingness didn't bother her at all.

A trooper.

Her eyes found his after she had finished, placing his now extremely clean shoes on the nearest stand. "I'll give these back to you next period, after I take them to the dryer"

"You don't have to do that. I'll just buy another pair"

Hinata stopped and nodded briefly before gesturing to the waiting team. "I'll still give them to you. It looks like your team wants you"

Gaara turned around to see all the boys waving him over, and that little blonde somewhere far away from him and behind the other biggest guy in the team.

He should be- Temari bought him those shoes. Gaara turned back to thank the Hyuuga, but she was already walking away, his boots swinging in her hands.

She was definitely something alright.

Hinata didn't end up seeing him next period- she was stuck in a locker. Shoved in one and locked into it by none other than Haruno and Inoichi. Hinata supposed she had it coming, and part of it was her fault for not being more aware of her surroundings.

The two girls and a few of their friends had picked Hinata up, all saying things she would prefer not to remember- locking her in the spare Janitor's locker.

It was embarrassing, humiliating even, but Hinata had bigger things to worry about. Like how she was going to get out and talk to Kakashi Sensei about missing the test.

And getting Gaara's boots back to him.

Gaara.

That burly redhead with intense eyes and an even more intense way of doing things; everything, from speaking, practicing to even just standing- everything was intense. It was strange. And so different from the way Hinata was, nearly the exact opposite.

Except he wasn't loud and arrogant, but had a quiet confidence that was, of course, extremely attractive to her. He could command a room with a word and didn't seem to care what other people thought of him.

But being his tutor? Hinata shook her head in the small space. He had already lost enough of his social standing defending her, she couldn't bring him lower.

Not to her level.

She sighed, cursing whoever would listen and beating her fists against the locker door. Was she ever going to get out of this stupid locker?

Gaara sat in his seat, tapping his hand impatiently on the desk as he waited for the girl to walk through the class. It had been nearly ten minutes and Kakashi was late to class- as always- but Hinata didn't seem like the type to ever be late.

"You should go and check the Girl's lockers" A lazy voice next to him piped up, Shikamaru's apathetic gaze on him.

"What?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Look in the Girl's lockers. Haruno and the blonde one usually shove and lock her in one for fun" There was a hint of annoyance in his voice, something that seemed out of character. But Gaara shot up, stalking out of the room, tipping over Sakura's and Ino's desk as he went, a grim smile on his face at their outraged cries.

He walked into the Girls' Lockers, silently grateful that no teacher was there and listened for movement in the lockers.

"Hinata?"

A small shuffle was heard in the lockers opposite to the toilets, near the end. "Who's there?" she replied, voice scratchy, as if she had been crying.

"Gaara."

He came to the locker she was in, an undeniably strong anger running through him. Was this a normal practice? Judging by Shikamaru's incensed statement, it was. What right did they have to hurt a girl who had nothing- as far as he knew - to them?

He jiggled the door for a few moments, frowning when it wouldn't budge. "I'm going to have to use more force. Try to pull yourself away from the door"

He heard a shuffle, followed by a small 'ready' and he squatted down, angling his shoulder against the locker before drawing back. Then, counting to three out loud, he slammed his shoulder into the locker, denting and breaking the handle.

A small squeak was heard, then, when the door opened, Hinata fell out and into his waiting arms. He held her up, waiting for her to regain her balance. "Are you okay?"

She ran a hand through her hair, pushing her fringe away and sighing. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm used to it. Thanks by the way, for coming to get me"

She looked around then, looking for someone. "Where's Shikamaru? He's usually the one that gets me out"

Gaara was surprised- he didn't think the lazy genius would do _anything_ for anyone. "He told me where you were."

She nodded, accepting. It annoyed him- how accepting she was of the way people treated her.

"Why don't you do something about this?" His voice was incensed, and he knew he had frightened her with how quickly he had become angry.

She wrung her hands out nervously, eyes going far away as she avoided his gaze. "It's n-not like I want it to happen. It just d-does, so I take it." Hinata shrugged a shoulder, turning around and shutting the now ruined locker door.

"And besides, I should have seen it coming."

"Like fucking hell you should have!" Gaara yelled, fist punching the nearest thing- which happened to be another locker door. Hinata jumped, startled back as she picked up her bag.

"It's alright Gaara. You don't have to get angry."

Gaara frowned, folding his arms over his large chest. "Then who's going to get angry Hinata? Who's going to actually try to _stop_ this abuse if it's not going to be you?"

She seemed to cave in on herself, retreating into the quiet, unaffected mask she constantly wore impeccably, only now, he had seen the tears in her eyes before she blinked them away.

"I don't know Gaara. I've seen what happens when people are always angry and I don't want to become like that- or let anyone become like that on behalf of me." She shook her head, tiredness practically pouring off her as she gave Gaara a resigned smile. "Don't worry about me. I'll be out of here at the end of this year. And you need to focus on your football."

Gaara exhaled sharply, not taking her resigned attitude and definitely not letting his anger go. His anger was what made him so good at what he did- it's what made him _survive._

"I can focus on football and other things." He stepped forward, changing his approach. Hinata was strong, but she was still a bit more fragile than others he had met. "At least, let me be your friend"

"But you'll be-"

Gaara held his hand up, face morphing into complete seriousness. "It's my decision Hinata. And they won't throw me out of their little popular group." He shrugged a big shoulder, a hint of a smirk coming onto his face.

"I'm too heavy."

Then he heard it. A light twinkling sound, and his eyebrows raised as he realized she was _laughing_.

And if anything, Gaara found himself cursing as he fell harder.


	3. Chapter 3

A week stretched by with no more hiccups- partially because Gaara threatened every single girl on the cheerleading team. He would never hit a woman, but he had a sister who would. And everyone knew about Temari Sabaku- retired MMA fighter and reformed disciplinarian for jails.

Their boyfriends had all become extremely agitated, especially the pink one's boyfriend, Naruto Uzumaki. He had tried to corner Gaara after practice one day, but it just didn't work. Not when Gaara was well over six foot, was built like a bull and didn't take shit from _anyone_ , much less a hormonal idiot who chose his girlfriend over being against abuse.

In that week, Shikamaru and Gaara had actually had a few conversations (mainly comprised of tired or masculine grunting, or looks given to each other when a football boy did something stupid. Again.) But both were surprised when Tenten and Hinata came to sit at their table, the twin bun girl gently urging her friend to sit next to the redhead, while she sat next to the lazy genius and stole his food.

All he did was sleep, it wasn't like he needed it.

Gaara had stilled as soon as she sat next to him, a shy blush spreading across her cheeks. Shikamaru propped his head up on a hand as he looked at the newcomers, raising a brow at Hinata in question.

"Your new dog settled?" He drawled.

Hinata looked at him and for once, Gaara saw what she looked like when she wasn't afraid. Or apathetic. He was only annoyed that it wasn't at _him_ , it was for the Nara.

"He's alright. Barks a lot when I leave, but other t-than that, he's settling in."

Shikamaru nodded slowly, eyes half closed already. "Good. He keeps me up some nights with that incessant barking."

Hinata grinned to herself as she ate her lunch, nodding. Gaara frowned, taking a sip of his water. "How do you two know each other?"

One eye snapped open from Shikamaru, analysing the subtly irritated redhead. Hinata shrugged a shoulder, taking a bite of her impeccably prepared Japanese style lunch box. "We're neighbours."

"The Hyuugas and Naras must be closer than I thought" Choji mentioned, happily munching on his third packet of chips.

Hinata shook her head, "No, I live by myself. I have an apartment next to the Nara's. His mom helped me get it."

Choji raised a brow, the news surprising Gaara too. "You don't live with your dad and sister?"

Shikamaru sat up, giving a reprimanding look to Choji before shaking his head at Hinata. "You don't have to."

Hinata sighed, shrugging her shoulders before playing around with her rice. "I might as w-well, they'll find out s-sooner or later. I got kicked out of the house a little after Neji...passed away."

Choji started stuttering an apology before Shikamaru whacked him over the head, telling him to shut up. Gaara nodded gravely, looking at the Hyuuga. "Don't you need a legal guardian to stay alone before you're eighteen?"

She nodded, gesturing to Shikamaru with her chopsticks. "Father disowned me from the Hyuuga clan, and Shikamaru's mum took me in. She signed the papers to be my legal guardian until I turned eighteen."

So the bond was stronger than he originally thought. But he was still grateful to the Nara, for protecting this girl in his own, lazy way. Gaara nodded solemnly, seeing the grateful look she gave to Shikamaru, who surprisingly, let one side of his mouth quirk up. Gaara's hand fisted on the table before he chugged the bottle back, gritting his teeth at the spikes of jealousy running through him.

He didn't have the right to be jealous. They weren't an item or anything close to it really. Right now, she was just a girl that was out of his reach.

"Did you want to start tutoring today?" A gentle voice said, snapping him out of his stupor. He moved his attention to Hinata, who watched him with a curious, pale-eyed stare.

"Yeah. I've got English last, so I'll meet you in the library after."

She bit her lip, thinking something over. "Well, if you want, it's Shikamaru and I's weekly dinner night tonight, did you want to come too?"

The question seemed to surprise everyone on the table, even Hinata. Gaara felt his eyes widen a fraction before nodding, fighting a blush that threatened to rise on his cheeks. Something primal and satisfied ran through him, and he sat back before an arrogant leer could cover his face.

"Instead of meeting at the library after school and going to your house after Hinata, why doesn't Gaara just come with you back to your house? It's more logical and saves time." Tenten said, giving the redhead a knowing look. He was silently grateful that he had the girl's goodside- she was putting in a good word, just like she said she would.

Hinata thought for a moment, seeming to agree in her head, not thinking of anything unsavoury that was surely going through Choji's head as he ate with wide eyes.

"You're right. Is that alright Gaara?"

"Yes!" Gaara said, immediately drawing back and repeating, in a more relaxed voice. "Yeah. Course."

Hinata beamed, putting her empty bento box into her bag. "Great. I'll meet you in front of the school. Shika, I'll see you at six?"

The boy nodded, and Hinata stood, pulling her bag up. "Bye!"

Gaara smiled silently to himself, continuing to eat the rest of his meal with a grin that frightened the rest of the people at the table.


End file.
